NearSt: the Google-backed startup helping high street stores compete with Amazon

The company's technology helps small business to expand their reach, and as Hazel Sheffield finds out, it's fast becoming a standard part of everyday web-browsing 

Hazel Sheffield
Friday 26 April 2019 17:54 BST
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Max Kreijn and Nick Brackenbury created NearSt after Googling for a light bulb replacement and being shown only online shops, rather than stores near them
Max Kreijn and Nick Brackenbury created NearSt after Googling for a light bulb replacement and being shown only online shops, rather than stores near them

The strapline of Kibworth Books, a bookshop in the village of Kibworth in Leicestershire, is “something for everyone”. But it’s only recently that everyone has been able to see what the store has in stock for them.

Kibworth Books is among hundreds of independent UK booksellers who have started using NearSt technology, which allows small retailers to compete with Amazon by making their inventory visible in online searches. As well as listing stock online for potential customers to browse, NearSt has an add-on feature that makes the store appear in searches when people in the area Google the specific title they want.

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